Love Doesn't Stop For Anything
by HurricaneAlaska
Summary: The aftermath of Beaver's death has a surprising affect on Dick and Mac


Dick Casablancas stood outside the Neptune Grand hotel looking at the blood-stained pavement beneath his feet where, only hours earlier, the body of his younger brother, Cassidy, lay motionless. He looked up towards the roof, wondering if Cassidy had been scared when he jumped, and he couldn't help feeling that if he had been there for his brother more and spent less time mocking him, he would be hanging out with Cassidy and Logan right now planning their annual surfing trip to Mexico.

Feeling his eyes starting to well up he turned and quickly walked back to his red mustang. He climbed in the car and pressed the button to put up the convertible top, rolled up the windows, and, after making sure no one was around, let the tears silently roll down his cheeks.

He didn't know how long he sat there, but finally he felt the tears start to ebb. He was wiping away the wetness on his face when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out and read the display. _Logan calling. _He answered the phone hoping there was no trace of his tears in his voice.

"Hey dude." Logan says "I'm just leaving Veronica's, you wanna meet me at the Neptune? We can go grab some breakfast or something." Dick hated hearing the pity in Logan's voice. He didn't want to be pitied. He knew it was his fault Cassidy was dead and he just wanted to be left alone to reflect on how he ruined his brother's life.

"No can do. Gotta meet the old man at the airport. He chartered a plane back to Neptune after I called him about...well you know." Dick replied. He was still unable to say it outloud.

"Alright man. I'll hit you up later then. If you need anything just let me know." He heard the click ending the call. He threw the phone into the seat behind him and lowered his head to the steering wheel.

The truth was, he hadn't called his father. He didn't want him to be there. It was as much his father's fault as his that Cassidy jumped, maybe more.

He started the car, put the top down and squealed out of the parking lot, wanting to be as far away from the hotel as possible. He drove around Neptune aimlessly for a couple of hours. He had no where to go and no intentions of going back home, where the memories of Cassidy were sure to hit him like a punch in the face. He didn't want to remember all the times he had used his brother as a punching bag or the times when he and his father implied that Cassidy wasn't man enough to go to the shooting range or the auto repair shop with them.

He shook his head trying to clear out the thoughts of Cassidy. What he needed was a distraction. He pulled out his phone and dialed Madison's cell number.

She picked up on the third ring "What Dick?" she answered in an uninterested voice.

"I was hoping for some company."

"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm with someone else now, he's older and way more mature than you'll ever be."

He took a deep breath. "Beav's dead." he told her, using the nickname he brother had hated so much.

"So you thought you'd get some sympathy sex from me? Not interested Dick." she spat out then promptly ended the phone call.

_That's fine._ Dick thought. _There are plenty of other girls just waiting to get a piece of Dick._ But about halfway through his contact list he realized it was fruitless. All of the girls he knew were either busy, clearly an excuse, or not picking up. He thought of Betina, who was always available for him, dying on that bus at his brothers hands.

Giving up, he drove to the beach to get wasted.

* * *

><p>Mac hadn't moved from her spot on the bed since she'd arrived home in the early hours of the morning. She just stared at the ceiling trying to connect the Cassidy who'd spent hours playing video games and eating pizza with her to the Cassidy that blew up a bus full of his classmates and raped Veronica. She still couldn't believe it was the same person. She didn't even notice the normal signs a molestation victim usually gives off. It's like he was able to disconnect from his emotions and become a completely different person. She thought of all the time they spent alone together. He could have easily killed or raped her. But there was no sign of "Psycho Beaver" when she was with Cassidy. And it was the sweet, playful Cassidy, the man she loved, that she was mourning now.<p>

She started when she heard a knock at her door. She muttered a faint "come in" and a few moments later her mom was sitting next to her on the bed, holding a tray with tofu and a bottle of water.

"It's nearly noon Cindy." she said, handing the tray over to Mac. "Try and eat something. I think it would be a good idea for you to call some of your friends like that nice Veronica. It won't do well for you to just lay around all day thinking about it."

Mac didn't respond and a few minutes later her mom got up and left the room. She just couldn't bring herself to call Veronica or get out of bed. She was still in shock, still couldn't believe who Cassidy really was.

Several hours, or minutes who knew really, later another knocked sounded at her door. This time her mother didn't wait for a response.

"Cindy Mackenzie. It's now 4 o'clock. Do you plan to spent the rest of the summer laying in that bed?" Her mothers eyes softened a bit when they met her daughters red-rimmed eyes.

"Honey do you want to see a counselor or something? I know this is hard for you and I don't know what to do to help you." Her mother finally admitted, breaking into tears.

Mac sighed and sat up. "It's okay mom, I just need some time to deal with this. It was kind of unexpected, you know."

Mac didn't want her mother to work herself up over this, which she undoubtedly would. She just didn't understand what Mac was going through. Finally, to placate her mother, Mac went and took a shower, then called Veronica. She knew Veronica was going through a lot right now, Cassidy had blown up the plane her father was on, but Mac figured she could go over to Veronica's and at least have some peace. She was sure Veronica could use the company right now and wouldn't want to talk much, which was just what Mac was looking for.

"Hey, Mac, how are you?" Veronica answered, sounding a bit more chipper than Mac expected.

"Alright, I guess. How are...wait is that your dad or am I just going crazy?" Mac was sure she heard Mr. Mars laughing in the background.

"He wasn't on the plane. Lamb made him get off at the last minute." Mac could hear the smile in Veronica's voice.

"That's so good! I'm glad he's okay I just wanted to call and check in on you. I'll let you get back to your dad." Mac said, hanging up the phone. There was no way she was going to get between that reunion.

She left the house and drove around Neptune in a daze. After a while she pulled into the parking lot of the Neptune Grand. She got out of her green beetle and walked over to the place on the pavement where Cassidy's body had landed. She stared at the blood on the concrete. It still looked wet and fresh. She didn't know how long she stood there, but the next thing she knew it was dark outside and someone was putting a jacket around her shoulder's and steering her towards the parking lot. She turned slightly and saw it was Logan, once they arrived at her car she turned to face him.

"Why do you think he did it?" The words came out in a small whisper.

"I don't know."

Tears began to fall down her cheeks once more and saw the pain in Logan's eyes. He knew exactly what she was going through and it was comforting to just stand in silence with someone who was suffering just as much as she was.


End file.
